Apple, a Critic of Rivals’ Ad Efforts, Is Pulling Back From Its Own Ad Business - Digits - WSJ

"In recent years, Apple’s advertising business seemed at odds with the company’s position on privacy. Chief Executive Tim Cook has criticized Apple’s Silicon Valley rivals, saying they are collecting lots of personal data on customers so they can make more money from advertising.

Apple’s criticism was undermined, in part, by the fact that its own iAd business allows advertisers to target users based on user information available to the company.

At the same time, Apple was unwilling to allow advertisers to tap a wider trove of data such as sharing the location of its users as they moved with the company’s mobile devices. This left the business, already a tiny contributor to Apple’s overall earnings, in limbo."